Laundry hamper stand

ABSTRACT

A laundry hamper stand suitable for holding, in a stable manner, two laundry bags. The stand comprises two substantially identical front and rear interconnected inverted U-shaped support members, each member having a vertical center arm intermediate each of the legs and the closed end of the inverted U, said legs and closed end being bent outwardly from the vertical arm. The front and rear members are interconnected by joining their respective vertical center arms. The bottom legs extend beyond the closed end to provide a stable base when a laundry bag is placed over the closed end of the support.

United States Patent [191 DeBoer et a1.

LAUNDRY HAMPER STAND lnventors: Harry F. DeBoer, Lansing, 111.;

Joseph A. N. Spowart, Hammond, Ind.

Servicemaster Hospital Corporation,

Downers Grove, 11].

Filed: Nov. 4, 1971 Appl. No.1 195,667

Assignee:

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1950 Lankford 248/98 11/1934 Pehrsson 248/98 12/1964 Bahnsen 248/99 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Ward Catalog 1965 Summer page 1154 [4 1 Jan. 22, 11974 Ward Catalog 1966 Summer page 440 Primary Examiner-Robert R. Song Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Edward W. Remms et a1.

ABSTRACT A laundry hamper stand suitable for holding, in a stable manner, two laundry bags. The stand comprises two substantially identical front and rear interconnected inverted U-shaped support members, each member having a vertical center arm intermediate each of the legs and the closed end of the inverted U, said legs and closed end being bent outwardly from the vertical arm. The front and rear members are interconnected by joining their respective vertical center arms. The bottom legs extend beyond the closed end to provide a stable base when a laundry bag is placed over the closed end of the support.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 'PATENTEU 3,787. 072

' INVENTORS AMP/P) 6. DE 505? LAUNDRY HAMPER STAND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains to a stand suitable for holding laundry bags and, more particularly, to a readily stored laundry hamper stand capable of holding two laundry bags.

The collection of soiled linen in hospitals entails the collection of items that require different laundering techniques before they are suitable for patient reuse. For example, sheets, draw sheets, pillow cases, huckaback towels, etc., require ironing whereas bath towels, washcloths, thermoblanket's, bath blankets, patient gowns, etc., are to be washed and dried only. Accordingly, it is desirable to launder these differing classes of items separately and to segregate the laundry at pick up.

Laundry carts commonly utilized at present are not readily capable of holding more than a single laundry bag at a time, thus requiring an attendant to utilize two carts if laundry is to be segregated at pick up. If more than one bag is placed on a single cart at one time, the cart has a tendency to be-unstable and tip. Further, present carts which could possibly hold two bags in a stable manner are quite bulky and, consequently, difficult to store when not in use and hard to manage when used.

Accordingly, there is a need for a laundry hamper stand or a cart capable of holding two laundry bags in a stable manner, which is readilystored and capable of easy management when used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a laundry hamper stand capable of holding two laundry bags in a stable manner.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a laundry hamper stand which may be stored or stacked in the minimum of space.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the stand comprises a combination of two substantially identical interconnected front and rear support members of generally inverted U-shape. Each member further comprises a pair of substantially vertical central side arms spaced upward from the feet of the member. The closed end of each member is disposed outwardly and upwardly at an angle to the central arms. The legs of each member are disposed outwardly and downwardly at an angle to the central arms and extend a greater distance outward than the closed end. The stand provided is rigid, non-collapsible and capable of holding two laundry bags.

In a more limited embodiment, the angle between the upper closed ends of the'support members is less than the angle between the lower legs of the support members.

Other objects, embodiments and more detailed description of the present invention will be found in the following description of the drawing accompanying this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of the laundry hamper stand which embodies the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view (right or left) of the hamper stand of FIG. 1 illustrating the exact orientation of each of the two support members and the placement of laundry bags on the stand.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of three hamper stands illustrating the stacking ability of the stand.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a perspective view of the laundry stand of the present invention. This stand is capable of holding two laundry bags in a stable manner and, when not in use, is readily stored, with other stands of this design in a minimum of storage space.

Support members 1 and 2 are of identical inverted U-shaped construction and are rigidly fastened to each other at vertical center arms 8 by connecting means 3. A nut and bolt arrangement is illustrated but other fastening means including rivets or spot welds are equally suitable. Each support member has a substantially vertical center arm 8, a pair of downwardly and outwardly extending legs 4 and a pair of upwardly and outwardly extending arms 5. Horizontal top arms 9 connect to the ends of upper arms 5 to form the upper closed ends of the U-shaped members. While each upright support member may be fabricated from separate parts, it is preferred that each element 4, 8, 5 and 9 be integrally formed from a continuous length of tubing. Thus, the stand is made from two identical members 1 and 2, each formed from one lengthof tubing and connected at their center sections 8.

To facilitate the mobility of the laundry stand, wheel means 7 are attached as feet tothe end of each of the legs 4. This attachment is readily accomplished by connecting the wheels to a vertically orientated segment 10 on the bottom portion of the legs 4. Preferred wheel means are casters as illustrated, which revolve and aid in the mobility of the stand. To prevent the cart from striking and marring walls, circular bumper guards 6 of larger diameter than wheels 7 are mounted on the vertical segment I0 of legs 4.

In operation, the top open portion of a laundry bag 11 is folded over the exterior portion of the bag, thus forming a folded edge 12 around the entire top of the bag. The bag is then located on the closed end of the inverted U-member of. the cart by placing the folded edge 12 over top arm 9 and at least aportion of upper arm 5. Because of the outward orientation of the top arm 9, the top of the laundry bag placed on the cart inherently opens so that introduction of soiled laundry into the bag via opening l3-is readily accomplished.

Stability of the laundry cart, whether containing one bag or two bags, is attributable to extending legs 4, outwardly beyond top arm 9. This construction insures that the laundry bag, as it is filled, hangs inside the cart wheels 7 and places the center of gravity well inside the cart making it almost impossible .to tip over. Further stability is obtained by assembling the lower and upper side arms 5 such that the angle 6 between the upper closed ends of the connected inverted U-shaped support members is less than the angle [3 between the legs 4 of the connected members.

Illustrated is the preferred construction of the cart wherein each support member is fabricated from a single piece of material such as metal tubing and each side arm or leg is parallel to the corresponding opposite side arm or leg on each member. However, it is within the scope of the present invention to include constructions wherein the side arms or legs are not parallel such as, for example, if upper arms 5 incline slightly inward be fore joining top arm 9.

The design of the present cart also enables many carts to be stored in a relatively small area without requiring the dismantling or folding of any cart. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the bottom portion of each cart is capable of telescoping within the bottom portion of another cart such that when several carts are stored upright, the total area occupied by all the carts is only slightly greater than the number of carts stored times the distance between the top arms 9. In other words, the legs 4, when stored, pass by the legs of an adjacent cart until top arms 9 meet.

What is claimed is:

l. A laundry hamper stand in combination with a laundry bag comprising, two substantially identical interconnected front and rear support members, each member of generally inverted U-shape and comprising:

a pair of substantially vertical central side arms spaced upwardly from the feet of said member;

b. the closed end of said inverted U-member being disposed outwardly and upwardly at an angle to said central arms;

c. the legs of said inverted U-member being disposed outwardly and downwardly at an angle to said central side arms, said legs extending a greater distance outwardly than said closed end; and

d. means for rigidly connecting the central side arms of the front and rear support members; said laundry bag having an open hem near the top opening extending toward the base of the bag and around a portion of said opening, said hem positioned over the closed end of only one inverted U-member whereby said bag is supported by the support member in an open position to receive laundry.

2. The hamper stand of claim 1 wherein the angle between the upper closed ends of the connected, inverted, U-shaped support members is less than the angle between the legs of said connected, support members.

3. The hamper stand of claim 1 wherein wheel means are attached to the end of each leg of the support memher.

4. The hamper stand of claim 3 wherein circular bumper means of larger diameter than the wheel means are attached to each leg immediately above said wheel means.

5. A laundry hamper stand according to claim 1 wherein said hem comprises a folded over top edge portion of said bag. 

1. A laundry hamper stand in combination with a laundry bag comprising, two substantially identical interconnected front and rear support members, each member of generally inverted U-shape and comprising: a. a pair of substantially vertical central side arms spaced upwardly from the feet of said member; b. the closed end of said inverted U-member being disposed outwardly and upwardly at an angle to said central arms; c. the legs of said inverted U-member being disposed outwardly and downwardly at an angle to said central side arms, said legs extending a greater distance outwardly than said closed end; and d. means for rigidly connecting the central side arms of the front and rear support members; said laundry bag having an open hem near the top opening extending toward the base of the bag and around a portion of said opening, said hem positioned over the closed end of only one inverted U-member whereby said bag is supported by the support member in an open position to receive laundry.
 2. The hamper stand of claim 1 wherein the angle between the upper closed ends of the connected, inverted, U-shaped support members is less than the angle between the legs of said connected, support members.
 3. The hamper stand of claim 1 wherein wheel means are attached to the end of each leg of the support member.
 4. The hamper stand of claim 3 wherein circular bumper means of larger diameter than the wheel means are attached to each leg immediately above said wheel means.
 5. A laundry hamper stand according to claim 1 wherein said hem comprises a folded over top edge portion of said bag. 